LotR - Prologue

[Estelyn Telcontar]

A brief passage in the Prologue that troubles me is this one on the custom of living in holes, as only the richest and the poorest Hobbits did:

The poorest went on living in burrows of the most primitive kind, mere holes indeed, with only one window or none; while the well-to-do still constructed more luxurious versions of the simple diggings of old.

This brings a vision of Hobbit slums to my mind that disturbs me greatly! How does that go with their friendliness and peacefulness, with the familial ties they hold high? Is Tolkien thinking of the Biblical “The poor you have always with you”? Is it inevitable that there will be poverty, and the kind described by Tolkien is great poverty indeed, even among a society with so many idyllic traits?

And what causes the poverty? Natural catastrophes (droughts, etc.) have not occurred for a long time, the land is fertile, and there doesn’t appear to be much serious illness amongst Hobbits – so would it be due to laziness? Or is the tendency to have many children (feeding them is expensive, we hear later in the first chapter) one that creates poverty?

Why is the poverty not alleviated by others? Apparently there are no social or health insurances, so if there is no other family member available, are the old and impoverished left uncared for? Many questions, and I have no answers. Is this something Tolkien didn’t think through to its conclusion?